This invention relates to a pet food supplement and process for decreasing adiposity in animals, and more particular, to a pet food supplement which includes beneficial amounts of Vitamin A in the animal""s diet.
Obesity is extremely prevalent in many species including humans, dogs, cats and horses. For example, 20 to 40% of dogs and humans have been estimated to be overweight or obese. Traditionally, high fiber diets have been used to combat obesity. However, high fiber diets are often associated with several undesirable side effects including decreased palatability of food, increased stool volume, increased defecation frequency, poor skin and hair, improper mineral balance, and decreased food digestibility.
An alternative way to control weight is to induce energy expenditure in an individual. Changing the metabolism of fat tissue may regulate energy expenditure. Fat tissue is generally categorized as white adipose tissue (WAT) or brown adipose tissue (BAT). Energy expenditure, in part, is regulated by BAT. Within BAT is uncoupling protein (UCP)-1. UCP1 is a proton carrier that, upon activation, causes the uncoupling of respiration from oxidative phosphorylation, thus causing increased energy expenditure from the body through heat generation. It is known that all-trans-retinoic acid (RA), one of the active metabolites of vitamin A, can induce the gene expression of UCP1 in brown adipose tissue (BAT) of rats. Due to its function in energy expenditure and energy balance, BAT has been implicated to play an important role in the control of obesity.
Another gene that has been recently identified to play an important role in energy homeostasis is the ob gene. The product of the ob gene, leptin, is primarily produced in white adipose tissue (WAT). Leptin is believed to be the signal for the level of adiposity, and this hormone both suppresses food intake and increases energy expenditure. However, there have been few studies on diet compositions designed to induce energy expenditure as a means to control obesity.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for decreasing adiposity in animals including companion animals such as dogs, cats, and horses.
The present invention addresses the need for reducing adiposity by providing a process for feeding an animal an effective amount of Vitamin A for a time sufficient to reduce adiposity in the animal. By xe2x80x9creduce adiposity,xe2x80x9d we mean that for a given animal ingesting a given amount of food, the percentage of body fat in the animal will be lower when the animal is provided with the effective amount of Vitamin A as compared with an animal ingesting the same amount of food, but without Vitamin A supplementation. The Vitamin A may be provided to the animal either as a supplement or contained in a diet fed to the animal. Such a supplement may be in the form of a pill or capsule, a treat or biscuit, or any other edible form. By xe2x80x9cdietxe2x80x9d we mean the food or drink regularly consumed by the animal.
When supplied as a supplement, the supplement preferably comprises from about 50,000 IU to about 1,000,000 IU of Vitamin A per kilogram of diet, more preferably, from about 50,000 IU to about 500,000 IU of Vitamin A per kilogram of diet, and most preferably, from about 50,000 IU to about 150,000 IU of Vitamin A per kilogram of diet. These amounts are over and above the amount of Vitamin A which may be present in other components of the diet of the animal.
The supplement is preferably fed to the animal in an amount of about 50,000 IU to about 1,000,000 IU of Vitamin A per day (based on a diet of 1,000 g per day), or about 5,000 IU to about 100,000 IU of Vitamin A per day (based on a diet of 100 g per day). The Vitamin A may be provided in the supplement as retinol, and provides sufficient Vitamin A to result in a reduction in adiposity of the animal.
The supplement may be fed to companion animals including dogs, cats, and horses. In addition to reducing adiposity in animals, the supplement may also be used to increase UCP1 gene expression, suppress leptin gene expression, and suppress serum leptin levels. The supplement may also be used to help prevent obesity, promote weight loss, and may also be used to minimize age-related increases in body fat and diabetes-associated increases in body fat.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the invention to provide a pet food supplement or diet and process for reducing adiposity by providing an effective amount of Vitamin A in the diet of the animal. This, and other features and advantages of the present invention, will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.